FNB News - Collaborations needed to reduce food insecurity, says FAO chief at CFS

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FOOD SAFETY

Collaborations needed to reduce food insecurity, says FAO chief at CFS

Tuesday, 15 October, 2019, 15 : 00 PM [IST]

Rome

Innovative collaboration and actions are needed to reverse rising food insecurity rates and resume progress towards the eradication of hunger by 2030. This was among the statements made by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) director-general Qu Dongyu during his address at the opening of the 46th session of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) recently.

“We have a huge challenge ahead of us,” he said, adding, “We can achieve this if we work together hand in hand.”

“Recent trends indicate that efforts to eradicate hunger by 2030 are coming up short,” Qu said, adding, “We must come up with new ideas and take bolder action.”

He took the opportunity to highlight the recently-launched Hand-in-Hand Initiative, through which FAO aims to tailor assistance to the small and vulnerable hands by the big and strong hands, through match-making partnerships, including donor countries, the private sector as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs), prioritising small island developing states (SIDS), landlocked countries and the world's least developed countries.

Qu also underscored that FAO will continue to support CFS and ensure that its policy frameworks are a central part of its own work and applied at local, national, regional and global levels.

CFS offers an inclusive platform for all stakeholders, including governments, civil society and the private sector, to work together and develop policy recommendations and guidance on topics affecting food security and nutrition.

The director-general concluded his presentation by emphasising that countries and all other stakeholders should design bigger, do concrete and aim better.

“The current session of CFS will approve a new four-year programme of work with a special focus on gender, youth, data and inequalities,” CFS chair Mario Arvelo said.

Gilbert Houngbo, president, International Fund for Agricultural Development, and David Beasley, executive director World Food Programme, also addressed the CFS plenary session.